Day 191

Key Verses: 3, 7, 11, 14, 17

Prayer requests can be tricky things. It can be hard to know the motives behind the request, even with our own requests. We pray for finances, but we are unwilling to be disciplined in our spending. We pray for our health, but we live our life with no thought to the consequences. What are our motives when we ask in prayer?

It is hard to be truly humble. It is easy to think we arrived where we are by our own energy and determination. But notice James’ sharp language. He says those who have a close connection to this world are committing adultery against God (God being their true spouse). God wants our total commitment. No weekend worshippers will do. This is a spiritual battle, not an earthly one. The spiritual forces of Satan are involved, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

If we resist Satan’s wooing and move toward the Lord, or should I say rush headlong to the Lord, then God is able to lift us up. But too often we put ourselves in God’s place. James’ example of speaking against a fellow believer shows how seriously we need to submit to the Lord and resist the devil. When we put someone else down with an insult or pointed remark, we are judging them. We are lifting ourselves up. Only God can lift us up.

Even the planning of our future here on earth can slip over into pride. Anything that runs independent of the Lord in our lives needs to be brought back into submission. This does not mean we don’t plan. It does mean that our plans are constantly placed on God’s altar, and we are ready to drop them all at a moment’s notice to obey.

When keeping our plans means departing from God’s plans, then we are off track in our lives. Big and small, all plans are open to God’s cancelation. It is much better when we listen in to God’s plans and adopt them as our own. Then we know that they won’t change. That is submitting to God.